Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="mgbeach" data-source="post: 5478968" data-attributes="member: 89766">Figured my fellow DM's might be wondering about this new item, the  Deluxe DM Screen.  I picked one up and figured I'd write up a little  review.I don't have  the Essentials one but do have the original  4e DM's screen which I've  been using for some time.  The tables are  laid out a bit differently,  and some of the table titles have been  reformatted to make needed  information easier to find at a glance.  Additionally, all errata seems  to have been taken into account.  One  of the first things I noticed  was the lack of page references. I  understand that both Essentials and  errata make that necessary, but  they were very handy. Not the end of the  world to write them back on  there myself for things I reference alot. Some changes by panel:    Panel 1XP Rewards chart   :   New one goes to lvl 30 monsters instead of lvl 40, and only includes  XP  value for standards (ie, no minion, elite or solo).  Good space  saver,  as it's a standard formula of 1/2 for minion, double for elite,  and 5x  for solo.Simplified Damage By Level chart  :   Lines for each character level as opposed to 3-level blocks. For each   level, a single-target damage expression and two-or-more targets   expression. On original screen, there were Normal Damage Expressions  and  Limited Damage Expressions, each with a Low, Medium, and High   expression.  The change is good in my opinion, as the chart itself is   mainly used for quick, out of the ordinary scenarios where a character,   for example, falls into a pool of acid.  I never really found it   necessary to have full expressions for how to create a new monster  right  there on the screen.Attack Modifiers chart  : same as original, moved from second panel to first.Monster Knowledge DCs  :   instead of absolute DC's, changed to Moderate(Monster Level) and   Hard(Monster Level). On third panel of new screen is DC by Level   (Easy/Moderate/Hard) that this refers to. Like the Damage by Level   chart, it is broken out for each level as opposed to 3-level groups.   Errata'd pretty significantly here.(NEW)Base Exploration Speed and Terrain and Travel sections:    Very handy to have on the screen. Gives Per Day, Per Hour and Per   Minute travel distances for base speeds of 5 through 8.  The Terrain  and  Travel chart is right below that and gives multipliers for terrain   types.Light Sources  : got rid of the lines for   all the different sizes of fire-based creatures. Perfectly good change   in my opinion, and freed up a lot of valuable space.Food, Drink and Lodging, Knowledge Skills by Origin  : remain the same from original screenDCs to Break or Burst Common Items  : moved from Panel 3 on original screen, errata incorporated and most DCs changed to some degree.Panel 2   Standard Actions, Move Actions, Minor Actions, Immediate Actions, Opportunity Actions, Free Actions:     Instead of having these all under the main heading of ACTIONS IN   COMBAT, each chart has a the type of action in all caps as the chart   title (ie, STANDARD ACTIONS). Great change, makes it easier to see at a   glance.  Added Ready or Stow a shield under Standard Actions. Added   Delay into Free Actions instead of having its own No Action section.Skill Challenge Complexity  :   Great addition, wasn't present on original screen. Columns for   Complexity (1-5), Successes, Advantages, and Typical DC's. Below that  as  part of the same section is a list of 4 advantages to be given for  each  success required beyond 6.  This new chart replaced the rather  large  section on the original that detailed the situations that grant  combat  advantage. The Conditions on the 4th panel all state if they  grant  combat advantage anyway, and that's a more natural place to find  that  information.Charging  : I don't know that   charging requires placement on the screen, and definitely not 1/8th of  a  panel.  I think it would have been much better to include something  on  Cover and/or Concealment, which originally were on the third panel  and  were removed completely from the screen.Panel 3   Difficulty Class By Level:   Previously mentioned, it takes all errata into account, breaking out Easy, Moderate, and Hard DCs for each level from 1-30. DCs for Commonly Used Skills  :   One of the best changes on the screen.. instead of listing all the   different actions with the associated skill and DC out to the right, on   the new screen they broke it out into sections for each Skill. Some   actions left off the original were added as well, including things like   Disable Trap, Open Lock, Pick Pocket, Bluffing, Sense Motives.  Additionally,   where some actions have a specific DC, many now have Easy, Moderate,  or  Hard listed.  I think that's a great change, soas to not make some   things such as hearing whispers, for example, trivial at higher  levels.   Originally, it was Perception DC 15 regardless of level.  Now,  it's  Hard.  So, if you're level 15, it's DC30 to hear whispers  (keeping it  difficult relative to level).  Panel 4  As with the original, the fourth panel still deals with    Conditions, Healing a Dying Character, and Death and Dying.Significant errata is taken into account, making this panel much less likely to start arguments at the table <img src="http://fast1.onesite.com/community.wizards.com/smileys/smile.gif" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />    Dominated gets more explanation, Grabbed is upgraded to a condition,   Marked gets more explanation, and added Removed From Play.  There   is a style change, in that the condition descriptions use the   convention of referring to "the creature" being affected as opposed to   "you." I think originally the text was copied and pasted out of the   Player's Handbook, which was talking about when the reader's character   was affected. Now it's more general.  A small but positive change.    Shows they were paying attention to details. Conclusion   All-in-all,   very positive changes were made from the original Dungeon Master's   Screen.  Wayne Reynold's art on the players' side is very well done,   depicting some snowy ruins.  A group consisting of a drow ranger firing   two arrows simultaneously, a dwarven cleric of Moradin holding aloft  his  mace, female tiefling warlock clutching a demonic rod and calling  down  fire, human female fighter (barbarian?) wielding a massive  two-hander  and halfling rogue inexplicably holding a torch aloft are in  the middle  of an epic battle.  Arrayed against them are a snarling  displacer beast,  charging dim-witted but brutal ogre, maniacal diving  harpies, gnoll  snipers raining down arrows from atop a ruined arch, and  a red dragon  emerging from his winter nap.   With the extent of  the errata  introduced since the original's release, as well as the  improvements in  layout and style, I'd highly recommend the new Deluxe  Dungeon Master's  Screen.  At $9.99 USD it's a great value as well.</blockquote>

Verification